In order to find out a business process, and further a management strategy, appropriate to the environments surrounding an enterprise. Various business process modeling tools and simulation & analysis tools thereof are developed. Generally, there are a project type and a process type as a business type. In the project-type business, it takes a comparatively long time to handle one order, a frequency of accepting order is small and a way of working is different depending on the order. Accordingly, in this type of business, for the orders one by one, a way of working suitable to each order is planned as a project. On the other hand, in the process-type business, it takes a comparatively short time to handle one order, a frequency of occurring the order is big, and the way of handling can be classified by a specific operation process (a service).
Accordingly, for this type of business, a way is designed for each service to handle a lot of orders. Business process modeling tools based on conventional techniques are provided to each of the two different business types. In what follows, a tool for the project-type business is referred to as a project design tool, and a tool for the process-type business is referred to as a process design tool.
First, as the project design tool, it is known that necessary works for a specific procedure are defined by using network diagrams and arrow diagrams, and the order of the works and the allocation of human resource to be injected can be planned (for example, cf. a non-patent document 1 to a non-patent document 4). In these tools, it is possible to simulate a load for each of workforces and a logical shortest term when handling one order, by easy calculations like the Loading and the Leveling based on the workforces and the Positions thereof. However, since this simulation is a simple calculation, stochastic dispersion, such as a delay due to various kinds of uncertainness which could occur through operations of the work, is not reflected in the result.
On the other hand, in a part of the process design tools for modeling such as an industry process and evaluating the model, work operations appropriate to a type of each order are defined with respect to a plural orders which discretely occur, and it is possible to plan and evaluate the procedure of the operations and an allocation of human and the other resources to be injected (for example, cf. non-patent documents 5 and 6). In these tools, objects having various functions, such as an occurrence of event, a retainment of event, a waiting queue of event, a conditional branch, a divide or a combination of event, and an elimination of event, are combined, the process of the combined objects is modeled in detail, and the Monte Carlo simulation is executed. Thereby, it is possible to reflect the stochastic dispersion in the result due to the uncertainness. In these tools, though it is possible to model various processes freely and in detail by the various functions of the objects, the model becomes complicated and intricate due to the freedom, which impairs visibility and sharability which are important aims of modeling. Moreover, the items obtained as a result of the simulation are basic ones for an event driven simulation such as an interval of events, waiting queues, and rates. Although a user can set his/her own evaluation markers uniquely, common and important evaluation markers for a business process are not defined.
In these years, a method is suggested, in which a business process is represented by a rule based on the Object Oriented such as UML to improve the visibility and the sharability of the models. In accordance with this movement, there is such a tool coming onto a market as defines models to conceptualize a actual business process, executes the design and the Monte Carlo simulation by the objects defined with these models, and can obtain the result thereof. In the tools to be provided as the process design tool within this-type tools, there is a tool in which a part of the business process is modeled based on a start and end of the process, a branch of the process by conditions, each of works for constituting the process and a human resource for executing the works (for example, cf. a non-patent document 7). In the simulation, a work to be executed is made occur as an order by occurring an event at a start object of the process. The work which has occurred is handled in accordance with the defined process, and is eliminated at the end of the process. At this moment, by giving a stochastic dispersion to the operation time, it is possible to reflect the uncertainness in the simulation result. Moreover, in these tools, time, money and the like to be spent necessary for handling one work are provided as a scale for evaluating a modeled business process.
Moreover, among the project design tools, there is some tools which provides project models in which a relation between a structure of the project and objects thereof is defined clearly, behavior models in which the uncertainness and motions thereof to be reflected in a simulation result are defined clearly, and evaluation markers which is defined for evaluating this simulation result are included (for example, cf. a non-patent document 8 to a non-patent document 10). In the project model, the project is defined by objects, such as a start and end of the project, a work necessary for completing the project, the Position allocated to the work, and a milestone, and a relation between the objects. In the behavior model, there are defined motions relating to the occurrences and the operations, and characteristics of the events such as a Work Item, an Exception Item, and the Communication Item, the events occurring during the simulation and being handled by the Positions. Thereby, the uncertainness to give influence to a project performance, such as term, cost and quality, are modeled.
The work item occurs regularly from the work object in accordance with a schedule of the work object, and is handled by the allocated Positions. The time required for this operation is determined by a characteristic of the work object (a difficulty level of the work and a required skill) and a characteristic of the allocated Positions (experience and a skill level). The except item occurs under a probability to be determined by an occurrence probability of Exceptions to be expected, a characteristic of the work object (a difficulty level and a required skill), a characteristic of the allocated Positions (experience and a skill level), and a state of the Information Exchange. The Positions, to the except item which has occurred, execute any one of operations which are the Rework, the Modify, and the Ignore. It is determined probabilistically in accordance with a characteristic of the organization (centralization) which one of the operations will be executed. The Information Exchange item occurs under a probability which is determined by information exchange to be expected, a characteristic of the work object (uncertainty), and a characteristic of the allocated Positions (experience). The Position treats the Information Exchange Item which has occurred under the probability determined by a characteristic of the organization (formalization). In an organization emphasizing the formalization, a lateral communication is not good. Accordingly, the probability of handling the Information Exchange item becomes lower.
As the evaluation scale for the project design, term, cost and quality are defined. The term and the cost are defined as time required to complete all works and as a total of the products of the Position injected during the term and a unit value of the Position respectively. The quality is measured depending on a way of treating the Exception which is the uncertainness and the Information Exchange. Concretely, the quality is determined in accordance with ratios of the handled Exceptions and Information Exchange items to these items which has occurred respectively. This scaling of quality is made possible due to an existence of a Behavior model. Moreover, as an analysis method of a designed project, the following markers are prepared, a work duration of each work, a work breakdown (The Direct Work, the Rework, the Information Exchange and the Decision Wait) and a change of the Backlog Volume.
Non-patent document 1: At a glance You can tell Microsoft Project Version 2002 (a Microsoft official practical guide), Okano Tomoka, Microsoft Press (Nikkei BP soft press), 2002.
Non-patent document 2: Microsoft Office Project 2003 Official manual client version (a Microsoft official practical guide), E-Trainer. jp, Microsoft Press (Nikkei BP soft press), 2004.
Non-patent document 3: Micro Project 2000 User's guide, Microsoft Co., 2000.
Non-patent document 4: KELLEY, JAMES E., JR., AND MORGAN R. WALKER. Critical path planning and scheduling. Proc. Eastern Joint Computer Conference (1959), 160-173.
Non-patent document 5: Business Process Modeling, Simulation, and Design, Manuel Laguna, Johan Marklund, Prentice Hall, 2005
Non-patent document 6: Simulation Modelling for Business, Andrew Greasley, Ashgate Publising, February 2004.
Non-patent document 7: Business Process Management: Modeling through Monitoring Using WebSphere V6.0.2 Products, 2007.
Non-patent document 8: The Virtual Design Team: An Information Processing Model of the Design Team Management, Cohen, G. P., Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Stanford University, 1992.
Non-patent document 9: The Virtual Design Team: A Computational Model of Project Organizations, Jin Y. and R. E. Levitt, Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2(3), 171-196.
Non-patent document 10: The Virtual Design Team: A Computational Simulation Model of Project Organizations, JOHN C. KUNZ2, RAYMOND E. LEVITT, YAN JIN, Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery, 41(11), pp 84-92, 1998.